Hannah Waddingham Home for Christmas is a joyous holiday celebration

Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham is clearly a musical theatre kid.

Well, she’s a musical theatre star but when we say musical theatre kid, we’re talking about those specific type of souls who are enthusiastic, earnest and a cheerleader for life.

You also get the impression they’ll break into song at any moment. Sometimes, that’s a lot. But sometimes, that’s exactly what you need.

When it comes to Christmas specials, that sincerity and warmth is a hallmark of the genre.

Who better to capture all that zeal than Waddingham, a woman with such a sincere, infectious smile that a glimpse of her is enough for you do the same.

Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas is heart-on-your-sleeve stuff. No cynicism, no snark. Just joy.

The special is a 44-minute concert with backstage vignettes and features a reunion with her Ted Lasso co-stars.

Shot at the Coliseum in London’s West End, Waddingham treads the boards of a theatre she’s been connected with since she was eight years old when her mother was a mezzo singer in its chorus.

Here, she belts out seasonal classics including Winter Wonderland, Run Rudolph Run, Please Come Home for Christmas and What Christmas Means to Mean.

The staging is extravagant, luxuriating in spectacle and cheer. Her sparkly gold gown with its fluted hem gives her the look of a Christmas tree angel topper.

Hannah Waddingham dazzles in a Christmas special on Apple TV+. Credit: Supplied/Apple TV+

Familiar faces join Waddingham in song, including Hamilton’s Leslie Odom Jr, Luke Evans and her Ted Lasso mates including Phil Dunster who, as it turns out, can carry a tune.

Other Ted Lasso cast include Brendan Hunt, Billy Harris, James Lance (Trent Crimm, The Independent) and Kola Bokinni while Nick Mohammed serves as comic relief.

Even the big-name Ted Lasso alums, Jason Sudeikis, Juno Temple and Brett Goldstein, make cameos in off-stage sequences.

The Christmas special is, after all, an Apple TV+ production so the cross-promotion makes sense.

The season two Christmas episode of Ted Lasso might have been divisive but no one could fault Waddingham’s contribution to it.

It might be a lot of Ted Lasso but for Waddingham, that was the gig that catapulted her to global fame after two decades on the West End and in TV supporting roles including as Game of Thrones’ Septa Unella (“Shame, shame, shame”).

Hannah Waddingham is a charisma bomb. Her charm cannot be contained. Credit: Supplied/Apple TV+

Sudeikis’s uplifting comedy is what alerted the world to this multi-talented performer who can dazzle with her blinding charisma, impress with her vocals and break hearts with her pathos.

Waddingham is a consummate host, able to charm and hold an audience in the room and at home. She’s always “on” and also knows how to share the stage with invited guests, including the London Gay Men’s Chorus.

That generosity of spirit emanates from her and from the production itself, a colourful and vivid celebration that strikes just the right note.

Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas is streaming now on Apple TV+